Sites such as work sites often have much activity taking place. In many instances, work sites include machines, such as mobile machines, which perform work functions. In addition, these work sites typically include the movement of vehicles and persons in the vicinity of these machines, and all movement must be coordinated to avoid interference between machines, vehicles, and persons.
For example, in an open pit mining site, large work machines such as off-highway trucks, large wheel loaders, large track-type tractors, excavators, and the like, perform work functions such as digging, dozing, hauling, and such. In addition, other vehicles, such as supervisors' trucks, service vehicles, site visitors' vehicles, and the like, must often travel about the site in the vicinity of the work machines. Furthermore, persons, e.g., workers, service and repair persons, supervisors, and such, often need to move about the site for various reasons.
An operator of a work machine must be constantly aware of this movement of persons, machines, and vehicles, particularly in the immediate area in which the operator is controlling the work machine. However, the operator must also focus on the work being performed. In the situation in which the work machine is quite large, for example a large mining machine, it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to maintain a full awareness of the activities at the site.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.